Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams: Season 1Review

This is a SPOILER-FREE review of Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams: Season 1.

Electric Dreams is an enjoyable science fiction anthology series inspired by visionary writer Philip K. Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep). Like Black Mirror, Electric Dreams features its own set of standalone episodes covering a wide range of topics from space exploration, to virtual reality simulations. Not all of these adventures are home runs, but there are enough good stories here to make this a worthy binge when it premieres on Amazon Prime Video on January 12th.

Telling a compelling science fiction story isn’t easy, especially when the writer is building a world from scratch. Some of the best examples within the genre, like the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, take present-day issues and place them into a futuristic setting. This simple but effective style helps to ground these new worlds with drama we can relate to.

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We see a strong example of this in an episode titled Real Life, which follows policewoman Sarah (Anna Paquin) as she escapes the pressures of her stressful job by using a very life-like VR simulation. The phrase “immersive experience” is often used to describe great titles like Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. They are worlds that one can get lost in for hours at a time after a hard day of work.

Sarah’s virtual experience has her sharing a mind with a game designer named George, as they pursue violent offenders in the simulation. In our present-day world, aside from the money it takes to purchase a game, the consequences of playing too much Zelda aren’t very serious. I mean, you might need to shower and say hi to your family and friends every now and then, but in this episode, the interactive experience can have terrible consequences. It makes you think twice about going for that one last shrine in Breath of the Wild.

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Another standout episode is Father Thing. Veteran actor Greg Kinnear stars in a father-son story that effectively explores themes of parenting and what it means to grow up. Kinnear’s character is simply referred to as The Father. His son Charlie (Jack Gore), suspects that something’s not quite right with his dad. There is a sci-fi element that I won’t spoil here, but what makes Father Thing so great is how well it handles the non-sci-fi narrative. Especially the relationship between Charlie and his dad.

The episode delves into Charlie’s evolving understanding of who his parents are. As he begins to mature, Charlie notices when things are not alright with his parent’s relationship. It’s a timeless story that showcases a child growing up and becoming aware of the problems his parents are facing, even when they try to hide it. Kinnear and Gore are incredible together as both of their worlds are slowly turned upside down.

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Electric Dreams does stumble with The Hood Maker, one of the few stories that definitely needed more time to breathe. The story centers around a future without advanced tech, where the only way to achieve long-distance communication is by using a group of individuals with telepathic abilities called “Teeps.”

The Teeps are abused and live in horrific conditions. It feels reminiscent of an X-Men story where a group of mutants are labeled as second-class citizens because of their unique abilities. Despite an impressive cast featuring Richard Madden and Holliday Grainger doing the best with what they’re given, the story feels rushed and incomplete. It’s like the writers are trying to force a whole season’s worth of story into one episode.

If you enjoy shows like Black Mirror (check out our Season 4 review here), then Electric Dreams will satisfy your desire for a quality sci-fi series with excellent production values and an impressive list of actors featured throughout its 10 episode run.

The Verdict

Even the best anthology series will have a few bad apples like The Hood Maker, but thankfully for Electric Dreams, they are few and far between. Overall, there’s a lot to get excited about. The man behind Blade Runner has some wildly imaginative ideas and it’s great to see them brought to life by a very talented group of writers and directors.

Great

Electric Dreams is a great sci-fi adventure inspired by one of the genre's most visionary writers.